The Victoria Foundation is a Canadian community foundation that manages charitable gifts and distributes grants to strengthen community well-being in Greater Victoria, British Columbia and communities across Canada. Established in 1936, it is Canada’s second-oldest community foundation and has invested more than $400 million in charitable organizations, people and community projects.
Introduction
The Victoria Foundation connects donors with charitable causes while supporting nonprofit organizations, First Nations and community partnerships addressing social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges.
The Foundation manages permanent income-generating funds, administers donor-directed giving and operates competitive community grant programs. Its work covers housing, homelessness, food security, health, racial equity, gender equality, environmental protection, Indigenous priorities, arts, education, sport and recreation.
History and Background
The Victoria Foundation was established on April 1, 1936, through an Act of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. It is recognized as the second-oldest community foundation in Canada.
Its history began during the Great Depression at the Sunshine Inn, a soup kitchen on Pandora Avenue in Victoria. The facility provided food to people experiencing unemployment and homelessness.
The Sunshine Inn’s founder, Captain Burges Gadsden, wanted to establish a permanent source of funding that could support charitable organizations throughout the capital region. His vision led to the creation of the Victoria Foundation.
The Foundation received its first donation in April 1937. Burges Gadsden’s mother, Fannie Gadsden, contributed $20. Because the donation was placed within the Foundation’s long-term charitable structure, it became part of a philanthropic legacy designed to benefit future generations.
In 1969, the Victoria Foundation began awarding community grants. Since then, it has expanded into one of Canada’s largest community foundations.
The Foundation celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2026.
Mission and Purpose
The Victoria Foundation’s mission is to strengthen community well-being by investing in people, opportunities and solutions.
Its purpose is to create a sense of belonging that inspires philanthropy, collaboration and essential partnerships while making a lasting contribution to the community.
The Foundation seeks to:
- Connect people who care with causes that matter.
- Build permanent sources of charitable funding.
- Strengthen the capacity and resilience of nonprofit organizations.
- Support community-led solutions.
- Respond to emerging social and environmental challenges.
- Encourage collaboration among charities, donors, First Nations and public institutions.
- Promote equitable access to philanthropic funding.
- Use community data to guide grants and partnerships.
- Support long-term, systemic change.
Its vision is to make communities stronger and improve the shared quality of life both now and over the long term.
Geographic Focus
The Victoria Foundation’s principal geographic focus is Greater Victoria and the Capital Regional District in British Columbia.
Its Community Grants Program primarily supports organizations working for the benefit of people or the environment within the Capital Regional District.
Through donor-advised funds, designated funds and other charitable structures, the Foundation also distributes funding to eligible organizations elsewhere in British Columbia and across Canada.
Governance and Structure
The Victoria Foundation is a registered Canadian charity created through provincial legislation. Its Canada Revenue Agency registration number is 130650898RR0001.
The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Board members serve three-year terms and may serve a maximum of two terms.
Under the legislation that established the Foundation, new board members are appointed by a majority of designated appointers. These appointers include:
- A Supreme Court judge sitting in Victoria.
- The Mayor of the City of Victoria.
- The President of the Victoria Medical Society.
- The President of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
The Board is supported by professional staff, committees, special advisors and honorary governors.
Ian Bird serves as Chief Executive Officer. He joined the Foundation in June 2026 after holding leadership roles with Community Foundations Australia and Community Foundations of Canada.
Board Committees
Specialized committees help the Board oversee the Foundation’s governance, investments, finances, grantmaking and organizational performance.
These include:
- Community Engagement Committee: Reviews community grant recommendations and advises on grantmaking policies and priorities.
- Finance and Audit Committee: Oversees financial operations, reporting, controls and the Foundation’s financial position.
- Investment Committee: Advises the Board on investment strategy, asset allocation, investment managers and endowment performance.
- Governance and Nominating Committee: Supports board succession, governance policies, board evaluations and the CEO’s performance review.
- Special Fund Committees: Guide funding decisions for particular programs, such as the Provincial Adoption and Permanency Fund.
Community members with relevant knowledge and lived experience may participate in committees and advisory groups.
Financial Transparency
The Victoria Foundation publishes financial highlights and audited financial statements.
Its annual disclosures provide information about:
- Assets under administration.
- Investment returns.
- Charitable gifts.
- Grant distributions.
- Operating expenses.
- Individual funds administered by the Foundation.
- Financial policies and obligations.
The Foundation’s 2025 financial statements were audited by KPMG, which provided an unqualified audit opinion.
Funding Model
The Victoria Foundation operates primarily through charitable funds established by individuals, families, businesses, nonprofit organizations and other donors.
Many contributions are invested rather than immediately spent. Investment income generated by these funds is then distributed to eligible charitable and educational purposes.
This endowment model allows a donor’s original gift to support community needs over many years.
The Foundation’s official information reports more than $650 million in assets under administration and more than $400 million invested in people, charitable organizations and community projects since its establishment.
Sources of Charitable Funding
Donors may contribute through:
- Cash donations.
- Gifts of publicly traded securities.
- Bequests and gifts through wills.
- Life-insurance policies.
- Retirement fund assets.
- Real estate and other eligible property.
- Corporate charitable contributions.
- Memorial and tribute gifts.
- Transfers from private foundations.
- Contributions to existing community funds.
- The establishment of new charitable funds.
Donors can make an immediate gift, establish a permanent fund or arrange a future legacy gift through estate planning.
Types of Charitable Funds
The Victoria Foundation offers different fund structures to reflect donors’ charitable goals.
Donor-Advised Funds
A donor-advised fund allows the donor or appointed advisors to recommend eligible charities for grants.
The Foundation manages the administration, investments, recordkeeping and grant distribution. Donors can focus on charitable decisions without establishing and operating a separate private foundation.
Donor-Designated Funds
A donor-designated fund provides regular support to one or more specific charities selected by the donor.
Investment proceeds are distributed to those organizations according to the fund agreement, helping to create predictable long-term support.
Discretionary and Community Action Funds
Discretionary funds allow the Victoria Foundation to direct grants toward important or emerging community needs.
Community Action Funds may focus on dedicated cause areas while giving the Foundation flexibility to support organizations positioned to create meaningful impact.
Field-of-Interest and Cause-Based Funds
These funds support a particular issue or charitable field rather than a single organization.
Possible cause areas include:
- Arts and culture.
- Education.
- Environment.
- Food security.
- Health and wellness.
- Housing and homelessness.
- Indigenous priorities.
- Children and young people.
- Social inclusion.
- Animal welfare.
Hosted Organization Funds
Charities and nonprofit organizations may establish funds with the Victoria Foundation to support their long-term financial sustainability.
The Foundation manages the invested assets while the organization benefits from professional fund administration, investment oversight and planned annual distributions.
Community Grants Program
The Community Grants Program is the Victoria Foundation’s flagship open grantmaking initiative.
It supports registered charities and other qualified donees working to improve community well-being and strengthen the long-term resilience of the Capital Regional District.
The program covers diverse areas, including:
- Housing and homelessness.
- Food security.
- Health and mental well-being.
- Racial equity.
- Gender equality.
- Environmental protection.
- Arts and culture.
- Education.
- Sport and recreation.
- Community inclusion.
- Youth development.
- Indigenous priorities.
The program prioritizes organizations operating in the capital region, organizations led by or significantly benefiting equity-deserving groups and applicants demonstrating substantial financial need.
Vital Grant Stream
The Vital Grant Stream provides flexible general operating and program funding.
Eligible organizations may use grants to support:
- Staffing.
- Program delivery.
- Organizational operations.
- Community services.
- Technology improvements.
- Program adaptation.
- Capacity development.
- Activities responding to changing community needs.
For 2026, eligible organizations could request grants of up to $30,000.
The Foundation distributed $6,197,224 through the 2026 Vital Grant Stream to 243 organizations. It received 329 applications, including 42 from first-time applicants, and reported an overall success rate of approximately 76%.
The 2026 application period ran from February 3 to March 10, with funding decisions announced in July.
Collaboration Grant Stream
The Collaboration Grant Stream supports organizations, coalitions and networks working together on complex community challenges.
It recognizes that issues such as housing insecurity, poverty, food access and systemic discrimination cannot usually be solved by one organization acting alone.
The stream helps participating organizations:
- Build effective partnerships.
- Strengthen collaborative practices.
- Share knowledge and resources.
- Coordinate community services.
- Address systemic barriers.
- Develop collective solutions.
- Advance long-term systems change.
In 2025, the Foundation awarded $574,390 to 16 nonprofit and charitable collaborations through this stream.
Grant selections emphasized equitable geographic distribution, support for equity-deserving populations and work addressing priorities identified through community research.
Who Can Apply for Community Grants?
Eligibility is determined by the guidelines published for each annual funding cycle.
The Community Grants Program generally accepts applications from:
- Canadian registered charities.
- First Nations.
- Other qualified donees recognized under federal tax law.
Applicants must normally work for the benefit of people or the environment within the Capital Regional District and maintain an official address in British Columbia.
Except for First Nations and Indigenous-led organizations, applicants to the 2026 Vital Grant Stream generally needed to report annual revenue below $15 million in their previous Canada Revenue Agency T3010 filing.
Eligible non-charitable groups may sometimes participate through an intermediary partnership with a registered charity or another qualified donee. Such arrangements require advance consultation with the Foundation and must comply with the applicable program guidelines.
How to Apply for a Victoria Foundation Grant
Applicants should follow these steps:
- Visit the Foundation’s current grants and programs page.
- Select the grant stream that best matches the organization’s needs and activities.
- Read the current application guidelines, eligibility requirements and geographic conditions.
- Confirm whether the organization is a registered charity, First Nation or other qualified donee.
- Contact the grants team before applying if an intermediary partnership is required.
- Create an account in the Foundation’s online grants portal.
- Complete the organizational profile and application questions.
- Describe the organization’s purpose, community needs, proposed use of funding and expected results.
- Submit the application before the published deadline.
- Monitor the portal for follow-up questions, decisions and reporting requirements.
The online portal allows applicants to submit and track applications and complete required grant reports.
Indigenous Priorities Fund
The Indigenous Priorities Fund was created in 2022 to support the social, cultural and legal infrastructure of Indigenous communities in the capital region.
An Indigenous Granting Advisory helps shape recommendations and ensures that funding processes better reflect Indigenous knowledge, values, relationships and community priorities.
The approach is intended to make grantmaking more community-centered and responsive to the needs identified by Indigenous Nations and organizations.
Vital Youth
Vital Youth introduces young people to community issues, philanthropy and grantmaking.
Originally launched in 2003 as Youth in Philanthropy, the program helps student leaders:
- Learn about local social issues.
- Understand charitable organizations.
- Explore how philanthropy works.
- Assess community needs.
- Participate in grantmaking decisions.
- Direct funding toward local causes.
The program builds youth leadership while encouraging lifelong community engagement.
Growing Collaborations Program
The Growing Collaborations Program supports groups of at least three partner organizations, networks or coalitions working on challenges that require collective action.
Participating collaborations may focus on housing, food security, poverty, health, social inclusion and other complex issues.
The program combines funding with resources that help organizations improve their ability to work across institutional and sector boundaries.
Victoria’s Vital Signs
Victoria’s Vital Signs is the Foundation’s annual report on the health and vitality of Greater Victoria.
Launched in 2006, the program uses community data and an online citizen survey to identify:
- Areas where the region is performing well.
- Issues requiring greater attention.
- Changes in residents’ quality of life.
- Community needs and funding opportunities.
- Trends affecting nonprofit organizations and public services.
More than 43,000 people have participated in the local Vital Signs program since its creation.
The Foundation uses this research to connect charitable funding with community priorities and encourage discussion among donors, nonprofits, government agencies and residents.
State of the Non-Profit Sector Reports
Since 2020, the Victoria Foundation’s State of British Columbia’s Non-Profit Sector reports have provided annual data-driven assessments of the charitable and nonprofit sector.
The reports examine:
- Financial pressures.
- Staffing and volunteer challenges.
- Demand for services.
- Organizational capacity.
- Equity and inclusion.
- Sector resilience.
- Emerging needs and opportunities.
These findings help inform grantmaking, partnerships and public understanding of the nonprofit sector’s role in British Columbia.
Major Community Responses
The Victoria Foundation has created and supported special initiatives in response to urgent community needs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it partnered with the Times Colonist and the Jawl Foundation to establish the Rapid Relief Fund. The initiative raised more than $6 million in 52 days for charities delivering frontline services.
In 2022, the Foundation helped facilitate a $3.1 million gift to Threshold Housing Society. The contribution enabled the organization to purchase a building in Oak Bay to support young people at risk of homelessness.
The Foundation has also supported the development of a regional food-security hub and other collaborative responses to community challenges.
Current Strategic Priorities
As part of its 90th-anniversary direction, the Victoria Foundation identified three core priorities:
- Preventing youth homelessness.
- Strengthening an inclusive food economy.
- Sustaining creative spaces for musicians, performers and visual artists.
These priorities reflect issues requiring long-term funding, collaboration and community-led solutions.
Impact and Examples of Work Funded
The Victoria Foundation’s impact is visible through the thousands of grants it distributes and the permanent charitable funds it manages.
In 2025, it granted more than $27 million across its programs and initiatives. Its 2026 flagship Vital Grant Stream distributed more than $6.19 million to 243 organizations.
Examples of activities supported include:
- Youth housing and homelessness prevention.
- Community-centre food programs.
- Theatre and arts education.
- Mental-health and wellness services.
- Environmental restoration.
- Programs led by equity-deserving communities.
- Services for children, families and older people.
- Indigenous cultural and community initiatives.
- Disability inclusion.
- Recreation and community-building activities.
- Organizational staffing and operating costs.
- Collaborative responses to housing and food insecurity.
The Foundation has invested more than $400 million in charitable organizations, people and projects since 1936.
Why the Victoria Foundation Matters
The Victoria Foundation combines long-term charitable investment with current community knowledge.
Its endowment model preserves philanthropic capital while generating recurring funds for charitable work. Its open grant programs provide flexible funding that organizations can use for staffing, operations and service delivery—not only short-term projects.
The Foundation also uses research, community consultation and lived experience to inform funding decisions. Programs such as Vital Signs, the Indigenous Priorities Fund and the Community Grants Program connect local evidence with philanthropy.
This combination of grantmaking, donor services, research and community partnerships enables the Foundation to respond to immediate needs while supporting long-term resilience.
Conclusion
The Victoria Foundation is a leading Canadian community foundation supporting charitable organizations, donors and community partnerships in Greater Victoria and across Canada. Founded in 1936, it has grown from an initial $20 donation into an institution managing more than $650 million in charitable assets and investing more than $400 million in community impact.
Through the Community Grants Program, Vital and Collaboration grant streams, Indigenous Priorities Fund, Vital Youth, Vital Signs research and donor-established funds, the Foundation supports both immediate services and long-term social change.
For more information, visit here.
